This is Me
by January Lily
Summary: Double the giggles, double the grins, double the trouble with the Gilmore twins. Charlotte "Charlie" Gilmore and her twin Rory certainly know how to keep their mother's hands full. But when life starts changing for everyone sometimes the only thing one can do is to wish impossible things.
1. Double Trouble

**Chapter 1: Double Trouble**

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Lorelai Gilmore ran through her house in a panic. It was her daughter Rory's first day at the prestigious Chilton Academy and despite it still being early in the day, anything that could have gone wrong seemed to have gone wrong. First, Lorelai had slept through her furry and cute alarm, only to be awoken by a frantic Rory, already dressed and ready for school. Then to make matters worse, her entire professional wardrobe, clothes that were actually suitable to be seen in public, were at the cleaners.

The only clean clothes that remained in thirty-six-year-old mother's closet were a pair of daisy-duke shorts, a tight pink tee, and a pair of cowboy boots. Not exactly the right outfit for making a good impression. It certainly didn't scream responsible mother of two and inn manager. Thankfully, she _could_ just use her trench coat to cover it all up. But of course, to top it all off, her trench coat, which could cover the God-awful ensemble, was missing. First impressions meant a lot and she did not want to give Rory's school a bad impression her daughter's first day. She knew the type of people at Chilton, having once been one of them, and she didn't want to add another reason for her name to swirl in their gossip.

Lorelai rummaged through the clothes in her closet one more time, double-checking, triple-checking for her black trench coat, but she had no luck. It was in her frustration that she realized the only one other place it could be: _her daughter's room_. The mother of two groaned before she marched across the hallway and firmly rapped on the door. She impatiently tapped her foot against the floor as she waited for a response. But none came.

So, she knocked once more. There was still no response. Lorelai didn't have time to wait around for her. She shook her head in frustration and opened the door to reveal the messy room of a teenage girl. Clothes were carelessly strewn all over the floor making it impossible to find anything. Lorelai picked up a teal long-sleeved shirt with rhinestones on it. "I wondered where that went," she muttered to herself and carefully tucked it under her arm before she continued her treasure hunt.

After finding nearly half a dozen articles of clothing that belonged to her, Lorelai still hadn't managed to find her trench coat, the one item she desperately needed. She sighed. Lorelai had no choice but to wake up her youngest daughter, Charlotte, who was more affectionately known as Charlie.

Charlie was Rory's younger twin. She was younger by 16 minutes. _16 minutes of pure hell_ as Lorelai commonly referred to the time between the two births. Like her mother and sister, Charlie had dark hair, bright blue eyes, and witty sense of humor. She was a sophomore in high school, but she had no interest in going to Chilton or an Ivy League university like her ambitious twin. She was perfectly content to remain at Stars Hollow High.

Not to be discredited, Charlie was intelligent. But when it came down to it, she didn't apply herself to her school work and this sometimes scared Lorelai. Charlie's mother could see a younger version of herself in her youngest daughter and she didn't want _that_ for her daughter. Granted, she didn't want either of her daughters to repeat her mistakes, but she could see Charlie easily falling into her footsteps.

Lorelai leaned down beside her daughter and gave her a gentle shake. "Charlie," she whispered. "Charlie, honey, wake up."

Gentle snores were the only response Lorelai received. So, she tried once more. Still, there was no response. "I don't have time for this," Lorelai muttered to herself before she yanked the blankets off her daughter, revealing a teenager wearing _her_ grey tank top and _her_ plaid pajama bottoms. Lorelai shook her head as Charlie immediately curled her knees to her chest for warmth. Charlie needed to know that she meant business. "Charlotte Victoria Gilmore!" Lorelai yelled.

"What?" Charlie groaned as she pulled her pillow over her head to muffle the yelling.

Lorelai rolled her eyes at her daughter's antics and then snatched the pillow. "Wake up."

Charlie shook her head with her eyes clenched shut. "Five minutes, Mommy. I need more sleepy."

The older Gilmore girl shook her head. "I don't think so. Ass up, now. I need helping finding my trench coat."

Rather slowly, Charlie sat up and rubbed the crusty sleep from her eyes. She then looked at her mom through slitted eyes because the bright sunlight poured in from her window, practically blinding her. Well, it was either the sunlight or the outfit her mother was wearing. She wasn't sure, so she did a double take. "Mom, don't take this the wrong way, but what the hell are you wearing?" Charlie asked. "I thought you were supposed to be taking Rory to Chilton today."

"I _am_ taking Rory to Chilton," Lorelai said exasperatedly as she rested her hands on her hips. "But as you can see, I need my trench coat. Now, where is it?"

Charlie cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you assume that I have it?"

"Because I have checked my room three times and it's not there. Not to mention that when usually when my clothes go missing, they somehow end up here in this pig sty." Lorelai held up the articles of clothing she had already gathered as evidence to back up her statement.

"You do have another daughter, you know. Maybe Rory took it."

"Honey, Rory leaves Post-It notes on the hanger when she takes something. Don't ask me why because I don't know. She just does. Now, where is it?"

Just then, the distressed call of the teenage girl downstairs echoed through the house. "Mom!" Rory called.

"Up, up, up," Lorelai muttered as she motioned for Charlie to get out of bed.

Charlie groaned before she slowly stretched her body and rolled out of bed. She slowly trudged over to her closet and began to sift through the clothes inside. Nope, not in there. Charlie yawned. She needed coffee before doing something like this, but no such luck. She stopped for a moment with squinted eyes and tried to remember where she would most likely put the trench coat. Under the bed? No. The nearly empty hamper in the corner? No. She then eyed the window seat curiously. Definitely a likely location for the trench coat.

At the bottom of the pile of clothes on the window seat, Charlie found her mother's trench coat. Charlie tossed the trench coat at her mother who caught it and performed the _sniff test_ on it. It must have smelled acceptable enough to be worn because Lorelai nodded her head and then looked at her daughter. Lorelai shook her head as she glanced around her daughter's room. There were clothes all over the floor, books and papers were carelessly tossed on her desk, not to mention the water bottles, cans of soda, and sports drink containers that were piled on top of her dresser.

"This gets cleaned right after school, Charlie. Got it?" Lorelai asked.

"Mom," Charlie groaned in typical teenage fashion as she folded her arms across her chest. "It's my first varsity game today."

Lorelai nodded her head. "That's right. You play the game with the ball." She made a fake throwing motion and Charlie shook her head.

"Mom, you do realize there are over 1,000 games with balls, right?"

Lorelai chuckled and walked over to her daughter. "Honey, you know I'm not good with sports talk, sports, or anything with the word sports in it." She hugged Charlie. "Need I remind you of the sports bra debacle of…"

"Ahhh! No! No! Don't you dare!" Charlie covered her ears and Lorelai ruffled her daughter's messy hair. After a few seconds, Charlie removed her hands from her ears and looked at her mother rather seriously. "I really do have a volleyball game today."

"I know," Lorelai said nodding her head. "Volleyball's the one with hoops, right?"

Charlie rolled her eyes and groaned, "Mom." Lorelai smirked at her daughter who continued, "Mom, you're hopeless. Volleyball is the one with the net and you hit the ball back and forth."

"I know that," Lorelai said cooly before grinning. "I was just making sure you knew which game you were going to be playing this afternoon."

Charlie nodded her head knowingly. "Wanted to make sure that I didn't make an idiot of myself out there?"

"Exactly!"

"Mom, that might have worked when I was seven, but you're gonna have to do better than that now," Charlie smirked at her mother who just shook her head. There were probably times when Lorelai wished the girls could go back to being young and naive, but they were quickly moving away from those days.

"MOM!" Rory shouted again from the bottom of the stairs. "I'm going to be late!"

Lorelai rolled her eyes before she yelled back, "COMING!" She then turned to Charlie and placed a kiss on the girl's forehead. "Mwuah," she said after the kiss before squinting out the window. "Hurry up, kid. Parker's in the driveway waiting for you." With that, Lorelai threw the trench coat over her shoulder and left the room.

"Mom!" Charlie called.

The mother of two immediately turned around and walked back to Charlie's door, leaning against the frame. "Yeah, kid?"

Charlie yawned. "You might want to do something with your hair before you go."

Lorelai nodded her head. "Good idea. Ponytail it is." She moved to leave again.

"Mommy." Lorelai looked at her youngest daughter over her shoulder. "Tell Rory good luck for me," Charlie said with a sweet smile.

"Got it. And hurry up. Parker's not gonna wait all day for you." Lorelai paused for a moment. "Actually, he probably would, but that's beside the point. So, be nice." With that, Lorelai headed downstairs to find her other daughter who by now had probably grown rather impatient.

Charlie plopped back onto her bed and listened for the sound of the Jeep backing out of the driveway. The crunch of the gravel signified that her mother and sister were off to Hartford en route to Chilton. Charlie hoped that her sister would fit in at Chilton much better than she did at Stars Hollow High. Rory wasn't what one would typically call socially outgoing, especially for Stars Hollow, but maybe going to a school like Chilton with people more like her, would make things better. Although, this also marked the first time Charlie and Rory wouldn't be attending the same school and seemed kinda weird.

The youngest Gilmore girl then crawled out of bed once again and quickly dressed for school. She put on a pair of jeans, her Star Hollow High volleyball warm-up jacket with a white tee underneath, and a pair of tennis shoes. Charlie French-braided her hair in one long plait going down her back. Then she quickly brushed her teeth, grabbed her backpack and sports' bag, and she walked out the front door with hopes of heading to Luke's.

Thankfully, Parker was still waiting for her in his old red pickup truck which was parked in the driveway. She smiled as her best friend hopped out of the truck and walked toward her. "You didn't have to wait outside, you know," Charlie said matter-of-factly.

"I know. Your mom told me the same thing, but I've learned from experience that you procrastinate even more when I do that," Parker responded with a slight chuckle which made Charlie roll her eyes.

Charlie Gilmore and Parker Dell had been best friends since Kindergarten. Ever since the day Parker accidentally melted his crayons by setting them on the heater and Charlie shared hers with him. It was the start of a beautiful friendship that had been going strong ever since.

Parker was nearly six feet tall with light brown hair and grey eyes. He was second in their class academically...at least, he _was_. Now with Rory going to Chilton, that should put him in first place. Like Rory, Parker aspired to someday attend an Ivy League school. He wanted to go to Yale to study medicine and eventually someday become a doctor. His dreams were high loftier than that of his best friend.

As he approached Charlie, he reached for her sports bag which she willingly handed over to him. He was surprised to find the bag was actually heavy. He pretended to struggle with it as he mentally weighed it. "What do you have in here, bricks?"

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Yes, bricks come in quite handy in a volleyball game."

"Hey, you can always throw them at the ref," he pointed out. "You don't like his call and then _hey ref, eat bricks!_ "

"Ha. Ha. You're _so_ funny." She chuckled and gave Parker a playful push.

He shook his head. "You do remember I'm your ride to school," Parker smirked. "I could always just leave you and this bag here."

"You wouldn't leave me here. You and I both know it."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't I? I even have your mother's permission to leave you."

"Ah, ah, ah," Charlie said shaking her pointer finger at him. "I shared my crayons with you. You're basically indebted to me for the rest of your life."

"And you never let me forget it." He smiled and shook his head. He tossed her sports bag into the back of his truck and walked toward the driver's side door as Charlie hopped in the passenger's seat. Parker opened his door when Babette came hurtling toward them shouting. He looked at Charlie and said, "I'll be right back."

Charlie chuckled as Parker walked across the Gilmore's lawn to greet the woman running toward them. Babette lived next door to the Gilmores, but she was also Parker's aunt. Parker's dad and Babette's husband were brothers. "Mornin' Aunt Babette," Parker said sweetly as Babette engulfed him in a hug. He hugged her back. "How are you doing?"

"Doing good. Doing good. That's so sweet of you task, sugar," Babette said releasing her nephew. "I chased you down because I saw your truck in the Gilmore's driveway and I wanted to say hello and give you these." Babette shoved a bag of freshly baked cookies toward Parker.

"Thanks," he responded with a genuine smile.

"You share them with your special girl, now," Babette said with a wink before she looked at the truck toward Charlie.

Parker shook his head in disbelief. "She's not _my_ special girl," he told her. "We're friends. Just friends."

Babette pinched Parker's cheek. "If that's your story sugar. But I'm pretty sure everyone but _her_ thinks otherwise." She patted his cheek where she had pinched it before she walked toward Charlie in his truck.

He rolled his eyes before he jogged after his aunt, hoping that she wouldn't continue the current conversation with Charlie. "Aunt Babette," Parker called worriedly. "We have to get to school."

But she didn't pay her nephew any attention. "Charlie!" Babette called. "Wasn't Rory's first day of Chilton today?"

Charlie rolled down her window. "What?" she called. Babette repeated herself and Charlie nodded her head. "Yeah, she and Mom already left."

Babette placed her hands on her hips and shook her head before saying rather loudly, "What was your mother thinking wearing those clothes?"

"Her clothes are at the cleaners. Believe me, her outfit consisted of the most respectable clothes she had left. The leopard and zebra print definitely would have been worse."

Parker awkwardly ran his fingers through his short hair. "We better get going if you wanna swing by Luke's before school," he said.

"I'll let you two get going then," Babette said slowly walking away from the truck. She enveloped her nephew in another tight hug. Parker awkwardly patted his aunt on the back before he attempted to release himself from the hug. Babette held on for a few more seconds and then let him go. "Bye, you two!" she called and waved as she walked back to her house.

Parker shook his head and then hopped into his truck. He tossed the bag of cookies at Charlie and then started the truck. As he backed out, he waved once more to his aunt as Charlie opened the bag. "Aunt Babette said I'm supposed to share them with you," Parker said with a slight grin before he focused his attention on the road.

He drove through the small town of Stars Hollow and parked in the high school's parking lot. From there, he and Charlie walked over to Luke's to join the usual morning crowd. Luke Danes, the brusque owner and restaurant's namesake, stood behind the counter pouring coffee into a mug as Charlie and Parker took a seat at the counter beside Stars Hollow's mayor: Harry Porter. The mayor greeted them as Luke gruffly walked over to take their orders. "What can I get for you two?" Luke asked.

Without even glancing at the menu, Parker recited, "I'll have the scrambled eggs and toast with a glass of orange juice."

"Charlie?" Luke asked raising an eyebrow at the young Gilmore girl.

"I'll have what Parker's having except can I get…" Charlie began.

Luke shook his head. He knew where she was going with her order. "Coffee? No. Why don't you try a nice glass of orange juice, like Parker?"

Charlie's bottom lip jutted out a bit. "But Luke, I'm my mother's daughter. I need coffee, coffee, coffee." Each time she said the word _coffee_ she did a little spastic dance which made Parker laugh, but Luke only shook his head at her before he placed their orders with Caesar.

Despite his reservations, Luke brought Charlie a mug of coffee. She eagerly accepted the mug which she slowly sipped until the food was placed before them. Both teenagers quickly ate their food, hardly saying a word to each other. They then paid for their food and walked to Stars Hollow High side by side.

Once inside the school, Parker and Charlie parted ways as they headed for their lockers. At her locker, Charlie put her books inside and glanced at the empty locker to the left. It was the locker that had once been Rory's. It was strange not to see her sister beside her juggling books, pencils, and paper. But this was to be the new norm. Charlie sighed and shut her locker as Lindsey Lister hobbled past on her crutches.

Lindsey was a tall blonde sophomore whom Charlie was replacing on the team. The girl had come down on her knee wrong and needed surgery on it. So, Lindsey was out for the rest of the season and Charlie was in. While Charlie felt bad that it took Lindsey getting hurt for her to make the varsity team, she was also excited to play at the varsity level. The warning bell rang and Charlie took off in a sprint to her first-period class.

While classes had never been Charlie's favorite thing about school, they seemed even more unbearable because everyone was abuzz about Rory's transfer to Chilton. But worse than that were the questions from the other kids asking why _she_ didn't go to Chilton with her sister. That was an awkward question to answer. She could just say it was because she was stupid, but that wasn't true. She could say it had to do with finances, but she was certain her mother didn't want that information getting out. So, Charlie just responded with a smile and a nod of her head.

When lunch finally came, Charlie escaped to the cafeteria to meet up with Parker. The class period before lunch Charlie was in math while Parker was in P.E., one of two class periods they didn't have together. But when Charlie finally got to the cafeteria, she was surprised to see Parker already sitting with the new kid, Dean Forrester. She didn't have anything against the new kid, but she knew she wouldn't feel comfortable sharing Parker with him. She would just make things awkward.

So, she walked across the cafeteria to sit with the girls on the varsity volleyball team. The other girls were happy to have Charlie sit with them, but it was almost overwhelming how focused on the game they were. Their entire lunchtime conversation was focused on that afternoon's match. Charlie didn't contribute much to the conversation and focused on eating her chicken tenders instead.

Charlie was grateful when the bell rang for next period. Slinging her bag over her shoulders, she walked to the chemistry classroom. Inside, she found Parker already waiting at their lab table for her. Charlie set her books down and sat down on the stool beside Parker. "Hey, where were you at lunch?" Parker asked with a furrowed brow.

"You were with the new kid," Charlie said with a shrug.

Parker shook his head. "He has a name you know. It's Dean."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Fine, you were with _Dean_. I didn't want to intrude so I sat with the volleyball girls." She then looked Parker in the eyes. "You know I don't do well in _those_ kinds of situations."

"C'mon, Charlie. Dean's new and doesn't have many friends yet. He's in my P.E. class and he asked if he could sit with me and I said yes."

"Good for you."

"Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," Charlie groaned. "I-I just wasn't expecting him there and I freaked out. I was expecting to each lunch, like usual, alone with my best friend. I wanted to talk to you about how annoying today has been with everyone talking about Rory, but I couldn't. Not with him there. So, I went elsewhere."

Parker sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know."

"I know that. I'm just being stupid. I get like that. You know that."

He wisely said nothing. He pondered Charlie's words for a moment before he said, "Will it make you feel better if I swing you a pizza after work tomorrow?"

Charlie slowly nodded her head and then looked at Parker with a slight smile on her face. "You know. I wasn't so sure about you working at Antonioli's at first. But I'm beginning to see the perks."

The bell rang and Mr. Ash called the class to order. After a bit of lecturing, he let them work in pairs on their labs. Parker and Charlie worked together until class ended and then they headed to English class. Dean Forrester sat in the back of their English class. He gave Parker a wave and Parker waved back, but Parker chose to sit by Charlie which she was rather thankful for.

When the school day ended, Charlie headed to the gym and helped set-up with the girls on the varsity team. Once everything was set up, she then went to the locker room and changed into her varsity uniform. She had butterflies in her stomach as she looked at herself in the mirror. She just hoped that she didn't look like an idiot out on the court. Then again, she might not even get any playing time seeing as she was still just a sophomore.

Charlie then joined Parker on the bench for the JV games. Not surprisingly, Parker was working on his homework. Charlie grabbed the math textbook and held it away from him. His brow furrowed as he looked at her. "What was that for?" Parker asked.

"Do you plan on doing your homework when I'm playing?" Charlie asked pointedly.

"Of course not. Why else do you think I'm working on it now?" Parker responded. "Now, hand the math back over and no one gets hurt."

Charlie smiled and handed Parker back his book. He immediately opened his book back up and continued to solve complicated equations. She just sat there and watched the gym doors for her mother and sister, hoping they would get there soon. She didn't want to play without them there. But it looked like she was going to have to because Lorelai and Rory still weren't there when the varsity team moved to the locker room.

After Coach G's pep talk, the girls ran out onto the court to warm up. Charlie looked at the bench of spectators, but the only person there for her was Parker. She shook her head and took her frustration out on a ball she served in warmups. The whistle blew and the girls moved into the huddle. Coach G assigned them their positions and just as she suspected, she started on the bench. Charlie looked over her shoulder at the bench and was once again disappointed to see that her mother and sister _still_ weren't there.

Stars Hollow's team dropped the first game and Charlie still sat on the bench for the second game. She couldn't even look back at Parker afraid that her frustration might move her to tears. Thankfully, they won the second game and the coach put Charlie in as the setter for the third game. She refused to look back and be disappointed by those missing. No, she wanted to enjoy this moment.

Charlie was first up to serve in the third game. She hit the ball against the floor twice and looked up to find that sitting beside Parker with poster-board signs covered in glitter and pom-poms was Lane, Rory, and her mom. Better late than never. Charlie laughed as Rory and her mother cheered loudly and waved their pom-poms much to the chagrin of those seated around them.

The referee blew the whistle and Charlie tossed the ball into the air and smacked it. The other team wasn't prepared and it hit the ground without anyone touching it. Ace! Charlie served and scored a few more times. With each serve, Lorelai and Rory's cheers became louder. It was quite obvious that they had no idea what they were cheering about, but that didn't matter to Charlie. They were there. And they were there for her. She shouldn't have doubted them.

After the fourth game, Stars Hollow High won the match three games to one. Charlie ran over to meet her mother, sister, and best friend. She threw her arms around her mom and hugged her tightly."I'm so proud of you, Charlie," Lorelai smiled, hugging her daughter back before peeling Charlie's arms from her. "But kid, you're sweaty."

Charlie laughed before she pushed the stray tendrils of hair out of her face. "I thought you two weren't going to make it," she confessed.

"Mom, I told you," Rory groaned before she looked at Charlie and shook the sign she was holding. "We ran out of glitter."

"And glue…" Lorelai added.

Rory continued, "So, we had to get more. Then when we got home Mom remembered that she saw pom-poms and she thought we should get some. Apparently, Mom has a thing for pom-poms."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and shook her pom-poms. "Um, I figured if I was going to cheer for a sport I knew nothing about I needed pom-poms."

"So we had to go back to the store...again" Rory shook her sign again that read _MAY ALL YOUR SWISHES COME TRUE._ Charlie shook her head and smiled. She didn't have the time to tell them that _swishes_ were a basketball thing.

Charlie grinned and hugged her sister. "Well, I'm just glad you both made it. Hey, Rory how was your first day at Chilton?"

"It was...uh, interesting," Rory responded rather politically. "It's gonna take a day or two to settle into the swing of things."

Charlie knew that Rory wasn't telling her everything. Call it twin-tuition or whatever, but she knew. She didn't get a chance to press her sister on the matter because Parker interrupted, "Hey guys, I think I'm gonna head out."

But Lorelai grabbed Parker's arm so that he couldn't get away. "Oh no, Parkey," she said using his childhood nickname. "You're not getting away that easily. We're celebrating at Luke's. We're celebrating Rory's first day of surviving Chilton and Charlie's big win. And you're coming with us."

"Well, I guess you've twisted my arm," Parker joked. "Literally."

Lorelai grinned but didn't release his arm. Charlie jogged to the locker room and changed out of her uniform and back into the clothes she had been wearing earlier. She walked back out into the gym where her mom, Rory, Parker, and Lane were waiting. "To Luke's!" Lorelai commanded raising a fist to the air. The teenagers laughed and they left the gym and headed straight for Luke's.

Lane pulled away and began to head home. "Lane, you know you're invited too," Lorelai laughed. "As you can tell from Parker, I'm quite an expert at twisting arms if I have to."

"Yeah, but I should probably get home. My mom thinks that I'm at a Korean study session at the library," Lane said matter-of-factly.

Parker raised an eyebrow curiously. "Do those actually exist?" he asked.

"If my mom asks you they do," Lane said. "I even made fake fliers for them and posted them on the school and library bulletin boards."

"Got it," Parker laughed as he readjusted his backpack.

The Gilmores and Parker stood in the middle of the street as they watched Lane run back to her house which doubled as Kim's Antiques. When she was on her porch, Lane gave an enthusiastic wave before disappearing inside. "I don't envy her," Charlie commented to Parker. "Mrs. Kim scares the crap out of me."

"I think she scares the crap out of everyone," Parker laughed as they began walking toward Luke's.

When they arrived at Luke's, Luke was just about to turn the sign to closed. But Lorelai reacted faster and opened the door before he could flip it. "Can't you read?" Luke groaned.

"I only learned this morning," Lorelai responded sarcastically. "But right now, the sign is in a state of limbo, neither open nor closed. But since the door is open, this leads us to conclude that you're open for business."

Luke shook his head and motioned behind him. "The lights are off. That means we're closed."

Lorelai gave Luke the sad puppy-dog look. "C'mon Luke, we're celebrating. Just some pie."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Just pie?"

"Well, pie...and the coffee to go with it."

He threw his hands in the air in frustration and shouted something garbled. He then folded his arms across his chest as surveyed those in front of him: Lorelai, Rory, Charlie, and Parker. He then shook his head. "Ok, fine, but you all sit at the counter and no using the sugar to write dirty messages."

Lorelai squealed in delight as Luke opened the door further to allow them entrance. Charlie sat between Rory and Parker as Luke started a pot of coffee with Lorelai babbling beside him. Rory explained to Charlie and Parker about her first day at Chilton, which sounded somewhat like a day in hell. But Charlie was confident her sister would find her place at the school. Her sister was smart and would figure it out...and if she didn't, well then, Charlie might have to go kick their asses.

Luke served them their coffee and pie. Charlie couldn't help but want to take a snapshot of this moment to remember forever, a moment when everything still seemed _normal_. Things were definitely changing in Charlie Gilmore's life, but as long as she was with those who cared about her, she felt she could handle anything.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Some of you might recognize this story. This is** _ **my**_ **story, which slow-dancing-in-the-snow adopted from me. But after several discussions with Ani, she realized that she didn't have time to write it. (Thanks for trying, though, Ani! You did a great job with it.) She gave it back to me in hopes that I could make sure it gets updated. That being said, I'm posting this back on my page in hopes to add it to my rotation of things to get updated! Sorry for any confusion! Thanks for understanding! :)**


	2. Just Kill Me Now

**Chapter 2: Just Kill Me Now**

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Hell. Charlie was in hell. She could see why her mother had escaped all those years ago. Okay, maybe Charlie was being a tad over dramatic, but it didn't do anything to change the awkwardness of the situation. Charlie sat fidgeting in her chair beside her sister at the now traditional Friday night dinners and so for she hated every minute. She didn't really understand why _she_ was required to attend them. _She_ hadn't been the one to borrow money for Chilton, nor was _she_ the one attending Chilton on their money. Yet she was still forced to suffer through a dinner once a week at the Gilmore's lavish dining room table. Worse yet, her mother had forced her to wear a dress.

What made it awkward? The conversation was usually quite stifled and forced, except for her mother's bantering which usually ended up annoying her grandmother who would reprimand her grandfather to pay attention. It was quite a normal Gilmore affair, something which her mother had spent years shielding them from. But not anymore. Charlie didn't like feeling animosity toward her mother or sister, but if she was honest, there was some there for putting her in this situation.

Rory subtly poked her sister in the side. Charlie tried to keep from screaming as she was brought back to the moment. Rory gave her a look telling her to pay attention, but honestly, she wasn't really required for the current conversation. The adults were talking about some cook or maid or someone whom Emily had quickly hired and fired...Charlie arched an eyebrow...or maybe it was someone she was going to fire soon. Either way, Charlie didn't really care. She just needed a break from it all. She looked at the watch on her wrist. It was about _that time…_

Charlie discreetly looked up at the lights on the chandelier, trying to force herself to sneeze. After a few seconds, she finally did sneeze. She quickly clapped her hands around her nose, like she was trying to catch whatever imaginary snot might drip from her nose. Suddenly, all the attention was on Charlie. She made eye contact with the grandmother, pretending to be utterly embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry," Charlie apologized. "Might I be excused to get a tissue?" She was sure to play the situation up, trying to force the sound of a stuffy nose.

Emily nodded her head. "Yes, of course. You know where the powder room is, Charlotte," she said glancing at her granddaughter with slight concern. If Charlie didn't know Emily Gilmore, she might have been touched.

"Powder room?" Lorelai snickered, interrupting the pseudo-sweet moment with more of her banter. "I've never understood…"

"Lorelai," Emily reprimanded. The expression on her face was certainly colder than it had been to Charlie.

Charlie took that as her cue to leave for her tissue before her mother and grandmother went another round. She quickly stood and moved to exit the dining room. Although, she couldn't help but turn toward her sister and wink once she was behind her grandmother and out of the woman's line of sight. Rory blinked her eyes slowly at her sister. She wasn't sure whether to be angry or impressed by her sister's antics. Her mother on the other hand, just slightly shook her head while not making eye contact with her daughter. Grandpa just ignored her too busy staring at his plate.

She then escaped to the hall, already feeling a little better with some freedom away from the dinner table. Although, she wouldn't feel completely whole again until they were out of the house and well on their way back to Stars Hollow. Once she was finally inside the _powder room_ , Charlie locked the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. She then crossed the room to open the bottom pane of the window to get some fresh air circulating. Charlie inhaled the smell of the fresh air with her eyes closed, just standing there for a moment before she pulled her cell phone from the pocket her mother had thankfully added to the dress.

Charlie hit the number three speed dial on her phone before she put the phone up to her ear. She tapped her foot impatiently against the floor as it rang. Once. Twice. Click. "Seriously," the voice on the other end groaned in disappointment.

"C'mon, Parker," Charlie groaned back. "I'm dying here. Literally dying. Every time one enters the Gilmore house their life expectancy goes down by a year. You might as well just kill me now and put me out of my misery"

"Wow, someone forgot to take her chill pills today."

Despite the fact that he couldn't see, Charlie rolled her eyes. "Jerk," she muttered as she put the toilet lid down and sat down on the toilet.

Parker chuckled. "So, is this like our thing now?"

Charlie's brow furrowed. "What?"

"You calling me from your grandparents' bathroom. Last week you…"

"Hey now, last week was a legitimate excuse. I tripped over the rug and banged my knee into a side table." Charlie glanced down at her knee that sported a bruise as a reminder.

"Because one can't possibly ice their knee in a room beside the bathroom."

"Exactly, I'm glad you see things my way."

"I was being sarcastic."

"Which I chose not interpret."

There was a moment of silence and then Parker sighed. "It can't possibly be _that_ bad. They are your grandparents after all."

Charlie rolled her eyes. Parker had never had the _pleasure_ of meeting her grandparents. Lucky him. "Grandparents that I have absolutely nothing in common with, Parker. I know my mother has a flair for the dramatic, but she undersold Richard and Emily Gilmore to you."

Parker went silent. His family was definitely closer than hers. Honestly, that's part of why she loved being friends with Parker-she loved his family...and his nana loved her. While his siblings annoyed him at times, Charlie knew that he wouldn't trade them for anything.

"Parker, you there?"

"Yeah, sorry, working on my math."

Charlie scoffed. "I don't know what's worse, the fact that you're working on your homework while you're on the phone with me or the fact that you're doing your homework on a Friday night."

Parker chuckled. "Who knew being responsible was such a horrific ordeal?"

"I did."

A knock came at the door. Charlie muttered an obscenity under her breath into the phone, which made Parker laugh. Thankfully, it was just the made asking if she was all right. She was that it wasn't her grandmother standing outside the door. Charlie put the phone against her shoulder. "Just a minute," she called. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose.

Despite it being muffled, she could hear Parker's disgust from the phone on her shoulder. Charlie walked to the door and listened to the maid's footsteps grow faint, thank goodness. She then brought her phone to her ear once again. "You do realize I could hear you," Charlie said.

"Yeah, same," Parker argued.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "I should probably go. Meet me at Luke's later? And don't give the lame _I'm working on homework_ excuse. I know you. You're going to stay up until it's done, so you might as well get some sustenance to keep you going."

Parker chuckled. "All right, I'll head over when I see you drive by my house."

After saying their goodbyes, Charlie closed her flip phone and sighed before looking in the mirror. She pinched her nose several times to make sure that it looked red from blowing it. When she was satisfied that it should pass her grandmother's muster, she headed back to the dining room to face the Gilmores.

"Sorry, I took so long," Charlie apologized as she entered the dining room. She made sure her tone still sounded a little stuffy.

"I hope you're not coming down with something," Emily said sympathetically watching her granddaughter sit down. She then turned toward her daughter. "Lorelai, you should probably take her to the doctor."

Lorelai glanced at her daughter and tried to hide her smile. "I think she'll be just fine."

Emily wasn't to be deterred. "Lorelai, I don't want that cold turning into pneumonia like it did when she was five."

"Mom, Charlie's fine," Lorelai snapped. "I think I know when I need to take my kid to the doctor. I was perfectly capable of getting her in the last time."

"But if you would have taken her in earlier it wouldn't have…"

"Mom!"

"Grandma, I think I'll be okay," Charlie offered, gently resting her hand on her grandmother's arm, trying to appease the woman to take the heat off her grandmother. "It's probably just allergies." Charlie offered a fake smile, which seemed to satisfy her grandmother.

Emily took a sip of her wine. "Well, if you're sure. But if it gets worse, you take her in, Lorelai."

"Yes, Mother," Lorelai said through gritted teeth.

Emily forced a smile of superiority, sitting a little taller in her chair. Charlie wanted to roll her eyes, but she refrained. There would be plenty of time for eye rolling in the car. Emily took another sip of wine. "So, Lorelai, how are things at that charming little inn of yours?" Emily asked her daughter.

"They're still charming and little," Lorelai responded sarcastically knowing that those words were Emily Gilmore's form of a diss, but she just couldn't refrain from continuing. "And we're just crossing our fingers it doesn't assert itself and become rude and large. Inns sometimes get quite full of themselves."

Charlie tried to hide her smile. She wasn't sure what amused her mother the look of satisfaction on her mother's face or the appalled look on her grandmother's. But leave it to Rory to handle the situation. "Mom's having a huge wedding there this week," Rory said, smiling at her mother.

"Really?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai said nodding her head. "It's a double wedding actually, two sets of identical twins. People are coming from all over the country."

Emily forced a smile. "Well, isn't that nice."

"Yeah, it is," Lorelai said beaming with pride. What she didn't tell her mother was that the brides' father was a big shot on Wall Street and yet the family had settled on the Independence Inn in little ol' Stars Hollow, Connecticut. So, yes, she was rather proud.

But Emily was done talking about Lorelai. She then turned toward Rory and smiled, her smile much more sincere than the one she had given Lorelai. "Now Rory, how's Chilton?"

"Okay, done with me now," Lorelai scoffed shaking her head.

Looking rather perturbed, Emily turned toward her daughter once more. "I'm sorry, Lorelai, was there more to the story?" Emily's expression dared her daughter to defy her while embracing for it at the same time. It was a look she had perfected over the years.

Lorelai looked at her mother, deciding if this was a battle she wanted to take on or not. In the end, she brought the subject back to Rory. "Rory has to pick a team sport to play."

"Oh?" Emily said, piquing her curiosity.

"It's a requirement," Rory groaned.

"Poor Rory," Charlie teased ruffling her sister's hair. Rory swatted at Charlie's hand.

"Physical fitness is as important as intellectual fitness," Richard Gilmore began rather solemnly. "So says, Plato, and so say I." Charlie sharply inhaled a breath. Her grandfather was always so serious, or at least the grandfather she had gotten to know. One didn't want to get on the wrong side of Richard Gilmore.

But Emily brought things back around. "What sport are you going to pick?" Emily asked Rory.

"I'm not really sure," Rory answered before gesturing to herself. "I'm not really the athletic type."

"We've already ruled out volleyball," Charlie chuckled, elbowing her sister. Rory groaned again because she knew exactly what her sister was hinting at.

Emily's brow furrowed. "And why's that? You play volleyball, Charlie, surely you could teach her."

Charlie laughed and shook her head. "I've tried, believe me. She gave herself a black eye trying to bump the ball." Rory groaned again in embarrassment. Charlie glanced at her mother who was smiling, ready to join in the fun herself.

"I told Rory she should go out for the debating team," Lorelai joked.

"Except it's not a sport," Rory shot back.

Lorelai smirked. "It is the way the Gilmores play," she retorted causing Charlie to snicker.

"Rory, what are your choices?" Emily asked, ignoring Lorelai's comment, as she had grown accustomed to doing years prior.

"Oh god, there are thousands of them: basketball, lacrosse, swimming, track, golf…" Rory began listing.

"Golf?" Emily interrupted, her expression almost gleeful.

Rory nodded her head. "Yeah."

Emily's smile widened. "You know, your grandfather is a golfer." It was obvious that the wheels in Emily's mind were spinning full speed ahead. She glanced across the table at her husband, who looked just about as confused as everyone else in the room. Emily continued, "He plays every week at the club. He could teach you _both_ to play like pros."

Charlie swallowed her water wrong and started coughing. "Both?" she barely choked out as Rory patted her sister's back. Across the table, Lorelai winced at her mother's suggestion. Richard was too stunned for words.

"Well, why not?" Emily scoffed, clearly not seeing a problem with the scenario.

Richard finally managed to find his voice. "Emily," he groaned, trying to reel in his wife.

But Emily wasn't to be thwarted. "He could take you both there on Sunday. It's perfect." Emily beamed. "Richard, it would finally give you a chance to spend some time with the girls and help Rory fulfill her requirement too."

"Emily, golf is not something you can teach in an afternoon." Richard's voice was stern. Clearly, he was just as adamantly opposed to the idea as the younger Gilmores were. The elder Gilmores were locked in a battle of intense stares. In all her recollection, she couldn't remember her grandparents like this. Those looks were usually reserved for her mother.

Lorelai tried to diffuse the tension in the room. "You know what, it's okay. I'm sure the girls appreciate the offer, but I think Rory can pick something else and Charlie, well, she can already hit a ball so I'm sure she'll be just fine."

"Why should Rory pick something else? She needs to learn a sport and Richard can teach her. Now, one of you can use my old clubs, I got new ones for Christmas, you know, and the other can use your mother's clubs we bought her. Only, I'll forewarn you that your mother's are up there gathering dust with the rest of her potential."

Lorelai practically jumped to her feet, seething. Charlie and Rory's eyes both widened in shock as their mother pointed to the hall. "Okay, Mom, a word?"

Emily huffed a bit about how rude Lorelai was being before she stood up and followed her daughter out of the dining room. Rory and Charlie sat at the table with their grandfather in silence. Despite the fact that her mother and grandmother were conversing in another room, Charlie could still hear nearly everything they were saying. The twins would exchange looks whenever one of their names was brought up. To say that the situation was uncomfortable would have been an understatement.

Eventually, Emily and Lorelai returned to the dinner table. They both refused to speak to the other for the remainder of the dinner, instead, they opted to speak to the other through one of the twins. Much to the annoyance of Charlie and Rory because this atmosphere made the rest of the dinner drag by painfully slow. At least there was no more mention of this golf outing. So naturally, Charlie thought the whole ordeal had been dropped.

But no. As the Gilmore girls were getting their coats to head outside, Emily told Rory and Charlie that she would be seeing them on Sunday. Charlie's brow furrowed as she looked over to her mother in confusion. "It's one afternoon, kiddo," Lorelai sighed.

"Yes, it's very much settled," Emily added. "This will be so good for Rory."

Charlie bit her bottom lip. The little green-eyed monster inside her was wanting to rear its ugly head. The entire evening had almost solely focused on Rory. There was no asking how she was doing in school. There was no conversation about how volleyball was going. While she had always suspected Rory was her grandparents favorite, this was proof. Charlie wanted to snap at her grandmother, but she refrained for her mother's sake. She pushed the jealousy back down.

Having left her jacket at home, she didn't have one to put on. So, Charlie kissed her grandmother's cheek and said goodnight before she escaped outside. Lorelai looped her arm through Charlie's and began listing things she would rather do than go to the club as they walked toward the Jeep. "I'd rather slide down a banister of razor blades and land in a pool of alcohol than go to the club."

"As much as I'd love to figure out things I'd rather do other than go to the club, can we please get back home? I'm supposed to meet Parker at Luke's and I'd like to do that before it closes," Charlie whined.

"Aww, c'mon Charlie. I think you'd like to hear that I'd rather stick my hands in acid and have no sense of feeling in my hands than go to the club with you guys."

Charlie held her hands out in front of her. "Mother, hand over the keys."

"Don't ruin my fun."

Charlie looked to her sister for assistance. Rory smiled. "Give Charlie the keys. This way you can continue your diatribe in the car," the older twin said.

"See? No fun will be ruined," Charlie offered. "In fact, the fun will continue."

Lorelai fished the keys out of her purse and set them in her youngest daughter's hand as she continued her list. Rory climbed in the back of Jeep. Lorelai then put the seat back in place before she hopped in the passenger's side as Charlie got behind the wheel. Charlie was a safe, if not cautious driver, hardly ever going above the speed limit. But if she saw she was going over, she apologized, even if there wasn't anyone around.

Lorelai's jokes continued until they were five minutes from Stars Hollow. For the most part, Charlie ignored her mother's antics and focused on the road. At least she had that small comfort. Poor Rory had nothing to do but listen to their mother. "Can you go any slower?" Rory groaned.

"I'm going the speed limit," Charlie hissed back.

"But if you went faster we wouldn't have as much of this," Rory said pointing to their mother.

Charlie shook her head. "Nah, she would just get her second-wind at home." As they approached Parker's house, Charlie gave a few honks of the horn to let him know she was going past his house.

"That's what I'm scared of."

"You two do realize she can hear you, right?" Lorelai asked, pointedly. "And I'm sorry, honey, but a second wind is inevitable." Rory groaned.

The Stars Hollow sign came into view and then Charlie pulled up in front of Luke's Diner. She turned toward her sister in the backseat. "Good luck with her," Charlie teased.

"Yeah, thanks," Rory muttered sarcastically.

Charlie jumped out of the Jeep and walked around the front of it toward the diner. As she passed by her mother, Lorelai grabbed hold of Charlie's arm. Charlie looked at her mother in confusion. "Babe, next week when you decide to sneak out for your weekly emergency Parker phone call from the Gilmore's bathroom, at least give me a heads up, a nod, something."

"You know?" Charlie asked her mother incredulously.

Lorelai laughed. "Honey, you're using tricks from the book I wrote and believe me, I perfected them. You're still very amatuer yet."

"Hey!"

"Just calling it as I see it."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Well, then maybe you can teach me your ways when I get home, oh wise one." Charlie's tone was mocking, but Lorelai understood her daughter's sense of humor-especially since it was an inherited trait.

Lorelai smiled and patted her daughter's arm. "Don't be out too late and make sure Parker walks you home."

"Because obviously there's a serial killer loose in Stars Hollow," Charlie scoffed.

"Weren't you watching the news today? Cap'n Crunch is on the loose."

"Ha. Ha." Charlie was definitely more amused with her mother's _cereal_ killer leap than she was letting on.

"Tony the Tiger is pretty sketchy too!" Rory piped in as she attempted to crawl over the seat in the Jeep so that she could ride shotgun.

"Toucan Sam…" Lorelai added.

"Count Chocula…"

"Snap, Crackle, and Pop…"

"Lucky the Leprechaun…"

"Oh, look, here comes Parker!" Lorelai said waving at Parker who jogged toward them. She waved him over to come to join the conversation. Charlie shook her head in embarrassment.

"Hey, Charlie. Lorelai. Rory," Parker greeted with as mile as he pulled his sweatshirt hood from his head. Rory waved from the car. "What's up?"

Lorelai smirked. "Parker, we were just discussing cereal killers."

Parker's brow furrowed. "Oh-kay," he said hesitantly.

"What are your thoughts on Cap'n Crunch?"

Charlie tugged at Parker's arm, pulling him toward Luke's. "Don't get sucked into their madness. Resist, Parker. Resist. Besides, we need to go before Luke decides to shut down for the night. I have a burger calling my name. Don't you hear it? Charlie! Charlie! Chaaaaarlie!"

Parker laughed. "Should probably get her some food before she starts hearing other voices. It will probably be the ice cream next," he teased which made Rory and Lorelai laugh. Charlie playfully smacked Parker's arm. He just laughed at her attempt.

Lorelai shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. "Hey Parker, will you make sure Charlie gets home safely?"

"You know I will, Lorelai," Parker said with a nod.

"Good boy," Lorelai praised like one would praise a dog while she patted his cheek. Parker chuckled. Lorelai then walked to the driver's side of the Jeep and drove away, fully intending to annoy Rory for the rest of the evening.

As the Jeep pulled away, Charlie groaned and shook her head in embarrassment. "Oh my god, she's so embarrassing sometimes," Charlie groaned. "Sorry about that."

Parker eyed her curiously. "You do realize that you have like the coolest mom ever, right?"

Charlie's nose crinkled in disgust. Then her expression quickly changed as she looked at Parker with raised eyebrows. "Is someone crushing on my mom?" she teased.

"Don't be ridiculous," Parker quickly shot back, it was obvious she had pressed some sort of button because he started to ramble. "I mean that's just...preposterous. Like the stupidest thing, I've ever heard come out of your mouth and I've heard a lot of stupid things come from your mouth. I mean that would be just wrong, crushing on your…"

Charlie put her hands up in defense and started laughing. "Whoa, someone's getting defensive."

Parker folded his arms across his chest. "I don't have a crush on your mother."

Charlie looked at him curiously with her hands on her hips. "Who's the lucky lady?" Her hair blew gently in the wind and the street light made Charlie's blue eyes glisten. The dress she was wearing stopped just above her knees and hugged her perfectly.

Parker gulped. No, he didn't have a thing for Lorelai Gilmore. It was a different Gilmore he was crushing on. Not that he would ever tell her that. Charlie gave him a _well?_ look. "I-I-you're frustrating sometimes, you know that?" Parker said shaking his head, hoping to distract her.

She gave him a puppy-dog expression. "You know that I can't be held responsible for what I say when I'm hungry."

"You just had dinner," Parker pointed out.

"Parker," Charlie whined childishly.

"All right, all right, let's get you some food so you'll be able to talk responsibly," he teased her.

Charlie smiled as she and Parker walked to the door to Luke's diner. Parker opened the door for her and held it open as she walked inside. Charlie sat down on a stood at the counter and Parker sat beside her. Luke looked over at them. Charlie wasn't quite sure whether he was actually annoyed by their presence or not. But she figured he should just be thankful that she didn't order coffee for once.

When Luke went tin the back to start their order, Parker reached for a blank order slip on the counter which he folded into a paper football. He elbowed Charlie to put her fingers up at the goal posts. She did. His paper football easily went through the goal posts, but before Charlie could grab the paper football for her turn, Luke snatched it away from them. Charlie glanced at Parker, both of them were wearing matching sheepish expressions before they burst into giggles.

Luke eventually set their plates with burgers and fries in front of them. He then set to work clearing the tables in front of the windows. Charlie inhaled the delicious scent. The aroma wafting from the burgers was almost heavenly. She picked up her burger and took a bite. "Oh my god," Charlie moaned. "Luke, you've got to be a god."

"Greek? Roman? Norse? Egyptian?" Parker asked after he took a bite of his burger.

"Doesn't matter-whichever has a place for a burger god dressed in flannel and a backward baseball cap."

"I'm thinking Olympus might have a lenient dress code."

Charlie smiled. "I can see it now." She waved her hand out in front of her like she was making a rainbow. "Luke. Sitting there next to Zeus with a burger in one hand and a spatula in the other."

"Oh jeez," Luke groaned as he walked behind the two teenagers to get to the other tables. "Will you two stop?"

"C'mon, Luke. It's a compliment," Charlie said turning toward him on her stool.

Luke didn't look amused. "Just eat your food and get out," he grumbled pointing his spray bottled toward her and pretended to squirt it before he turned his back on them and started wiping off another table. Parker and Charlie chuckled and continued to eat.

When they were done eating, they paid their bills before they headed outside. After a few steps, Charlie shivered. She had opted for a short-sleeve dress for the evening and her coat was still at home. Parker must have noticed because he unzipped his hoodie and handed it to Charlie. She tried to refuse the jacket, but Parker insisted that he was more than warm enough and that he only wore the hoodie in the first place because his mother wouldn't let him out the door without it.

Charlie slipped on the hoodie, which was way too big for her. The sleeves went past her hands. She showed Parker who got a kick out of that before she pulled the hood on and then just let the sleeves dangle at her side. Parker shoved his hands in his pants pockets. The two then continued on toward Charlie's house.

"So, my grandma's making me tag along with Rory and my grandpa to go golfing on Sunday. Kill me now," Charlie said looking up at Parker.

Parker's brow furrowed. "Have you been golfing before?"

"No. Just mini-golfing."

"That's not golfing," Parker said pointedly. Charlie rolled her eyes. She knew that Parker golfed with his dad if they were able to make time. She also knew that if Stars Hollow High got a golf team, Parker would be on it in a heartbeat. But alas, they didn't.

"Either way, I still don't want to go. It's going to be horrible. I don't even see why I have to go. I mean, I don't have a phy. ed. credit to make up. Besides, my grandpa doesn't even want to do it. It's going to suck."

Parker shrugged his shoulders. "You'll be fine. Besides, there's a positive side to all this."

Charlie arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Which is?"

"That I might actually get something done on Sunday because you don't be around to bother me." He laughed at her.

"Oh, you jerk," Charlie hissed before she playfully slapped Parker's arm.

"Hey, now that Rory is at Chilton, I have a first place class ranking to keep."

Charlie folded her arms across her chest, the sleeves still flopping. "Maybe I'll start studying and give you a run for your money."

Parker scoffed, "Like that will ever happen."

"I'm not stupid you know," Charlie argued, her brow furrowing.

"I know that. You just don't apply yourself."

"Story of my life."

"And yet, despite all that you still have a decnet class ranking. Fourth, if I'm not mistaken."

Charlie looked at him completely baffled. She had never disclosed her class ranking to Parker. Never. "How do you know my ranking?" Charlie questioned.

Parker grinned. "Process of elimination. It's not that hard to figure out. I mean, you're not in first and then…"

Charlie playfully pushed Parker. "Enjoy your class ranking while you can, Dell. Because I'm coming for you."

"Bring it, Gilmore," Parker laughed.

The two teenagers seemed at ease as they strolled through Stars Hollow together. Even in a moment of silence, things weren't awkward between them. That was one thing Charlie loved about her friendship with Parker. They didn't always have to be talking to be comfortable around each other. They were able to have a comfortable silence, something which wasn't common in all friendships. Not to mention that she was always able to just be herself with Parker. She didn't have to impress him. Some people found it strange that she had a boy for her best friend, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Parker kept his hands in his pockets as they strolled up the walkway. They walked up the steps and onto the porch. "This is good night, I guess," Parker said.

Charlie nodded her head. "I will see you…" She paused and furrowed her brow. "When will I see you next?"

Parker shifted his weight to his other foot. "Well, I work tomorrow and the day after that you have your thing with your grandpa and Rory."

"So...basically you're telling me that I'll see you at some point in the distant future."

Parker nodded his head. "Basically. Although, your mom did hire me for that wedding at the inn. So, if you have to help with that, you'll probably see me sooner rather than later."

"Good grief, how many jobs do you have, Parker?" Charlie laughed.

"Enough to get me through Yale," Parker sighed. "My parents can't…" He stopped.

Charlie knew. He didn't have to say anymore. So, she changed the subject. "Well, I'll probably give you a call tomorrow when I'm stuck on my math," she said with a grin.

"Liar," Parker chuckled.

"Excuuuse me?" Charlie asked, placing her hands on her hips. The sleeves from Parker's sweatshirt flopping around. Parker couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Oh c'mon. We both know that you're not going to start your homework until Sunday night."

Charlie threw her head back and laughed as she leaned against the railing of the front porch. Parker laughed too, leaning against the railing beside her, smiling only for her. Charlie thought he was standing much closer than he usually did, but she didn't say anything. Parker opened his mouth to say something when Babette stuck her head out the window next door.

"Parker? Is that you, babe?" Babette called.

Parker quickly jerked away from Charlie "Yes it is, Aunt Babette," Parker called back, his voice sounding much higher than Charlie had heard it in quite some time. Charlie thought he was acting very strange. He turned toward his aunt's house. "Did you need something?"

Babette nodded her head while holding a pile of clothes out the window. "Can you bring these to your mother? She said something about needing a sweater and these ones don't fit me anymore, so I figured she might give them a try."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'd appreciate that. I'll be right over."

"Take your time with Charlie, sugar." Babette then winked at Parker. His face blanched and then was practically the color of a tomato. Not wanting to explain what he was thinking to Charlie, he quickly went about explaining something else. "Babette never gets rid of anything unless she thinks someone else has a greater need for it. So, it's my mom's way of helping them declutter. She usually just donates whatever Babette gives her to the Salvation Army in Hartford."

Charlie nodded her head in understanding. Parker tugged at the collar of his t-shirt. "I-uh-I should probably get over there before she decides not to get rid of something."

"You go do that," Charlie laughed.

"I'll be seeing you then," Parker said.

"Yeah, see you." Charlie smiled at her best friend.

They both stood there for just a moment, but then Charlie reached out and hugged him. Charlie had no issues with hugging her boy best friend. Girl best friends could hug all the time, so she and Parker should be able to do the same. She then released him and Parker followed suit. Charlie watched as he walked away from her and to his aunt's house. He turned and looked at her when he was a few yards away. He smiled and waved. She did the same before she walked inside.

* * *

 **Author's note: So since I last updated, I lost 4 chapters I had ready to go. I was trying to be ahead and get on top of things and when I lost them I was devastated because I really liked what I had written, but I couldn't remember what I had, and it was just a downward spiral from there. Then miraculously yesterday, I was able to recover them! As well as the 6 chapters I had already prepared for Coming to Terms. There were several happy tears and dances. So, I'm gonna edit these things again, but here's to hoping that there at least won't be as long a hiatus between chapters! A lot of relationship-establishing stuff, but hey, it's another chapter, right? haha.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, read, or reviewed this story. Y'all are awesome. But I'd especially like to thank those lovely people who reviewed that first chapter: slow-dancing-in-the-snow, superpsychonatural, wayward-jules, saige marie, the guiding light, hoqwaarts, mcflygirl6541, hidden journey, winchestergirl123, thelandofstories, Rhatch89, Guest (1), angelswatchoverme, nicolebeverly234, Guest (2), TK Roses. :)**


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